Lokayukta Raids Bengaluru Officials Over Illegal Allotment Of 15 Government Acres

On Monday, July 6, the Karnataka Lokayukta conducted simultaneous searches at seven locations across Bengaluru, including Devanahalli, Yelahanka, Hunasamaranahalli, and Yelahanka Marenahalli village. The operations were part of an ongoing investigation into two separate cases of alleged criminal misconduct involving senior Revenue Department officials who are accused of illegally allotting government land to private individuals.

The anti-corruption agency has booked M.K. Jagadish, the Special Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru, B.R. Manjunath, a tahsildar, and Rajanikanth, a shirastedar. The Lokayukta has accused these public servants of criminal misconduct while discharging their official duties. The alleged fraudulent transactions have resulted in a loss to the State exchequer.

According to the Lokayukta, the first case involves the wrongful allotment of more than 13 acres of government land located at Hunasamaranahalli to private individuals. To gather evidence for this case, Lokayukta officers searched the office of the Special Deputy Commissioner, the tahsildar offices at Devanahalli and Yelahanka, and the residences of the accused officials. Relevant documents concerning these land allotments were seized during the operations.

In the second case, the Lokayukta is investigating allegations specifically against M.K. Jagadish. He is accused of illegally allotting two acres of government land at Yelahanka Marenahalli village to a private individual. Searches were also conducted in connection with this case, during which officials seized documents believed to be relevant to the ongoing probe.

The Lokayukta team carried out the searches pursuant to warrants issued by the court. Before initiating the searches, the agency obtained the necessary prior approval from the State government under the Prevention of Corruption Act to investigate the public servants. The Lokayukta stated that further investigation into both cases of illegal land allotment is currently in progress.